


Secrets

by thewightknight



Series: Champion of the Just [3]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-23
Updated: 2014-12-23
Packaged: 2018-03-03 00:18:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2831246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thewightknight/pseuds/thewightknight
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ser Barris and the Inquisitor never manage to both be at Skyhold at the same time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Secrets

**Author's Note:**

> A little bit of silly romance here.

The Inquisition had furnished his tower room with everything he might need, and then some. The bed they’d provided was a bit overwhelming – it was the size of his entire room when he’d first made Knight-Corporal. The bookshelves were mostly empty when he first took up residence, but he had been filling them in, mainly with histories taken from Skyhold’s vast library. There was a complete sitting room, with multiple padded chairs and sofas and long low tables. There was even a private bathing room, with water piped in from a reservoir on the roof and a separate fireplace for heating it.

But by far his favorite part of the suite was the desk. The majority of the furniture, although in excellent condition, were older pieces that had been restored, but the desk was obviously brand-new. The surfaces were glossy and perfect and it still smelled faintly of varnish. The embellishments marked it as Orlesian-made, all elegant scrollwork and ornamentation, and it had an overabundance of drawers and cubbyholes. It had also been placed in the perfect spot, just to the side of the doorway leading out to his balcony, so he had a breathtaking view of the mountains when he sat at it. There was a large mirror on the wall above it, even, providing him with a full view of the room behind him so he didn’t have to worry about sitting with his back to the doors.

It took him several weeks to notice that one of the drawers was locked, another week of searching to determine that there was no key for that drawer anywhere in the desk or his rooms, and a few more weeks for him to remember to mention it to anyone, only to find that no one had any idea where the key might be. In all fairness, he was traveling a great deal, and didn’t sit at it very often, and had little time for searching when he was sitting at it. Well, that and the fact that he’d hardly seen the Inquisitor at all since the night of the feast weighed more on his mind than a small locked drawer in a desk with more drawers than he could possibly ever fill.

He’d worry that she was avoiding him, if it wasn’t for all the running around he was doing himself, so he found himself becoming resigned to returning to Skyhold after another mission and finding he’d missed her by a few days, or as today, by just a few hours. Burying another pang of disappointment, he headed for his rooms.

A hail stopped him just short of the tower stairs, and he was surprised to see Blackwall jogging towards him and waving. He stopped and waited for the man to catch up. “Knight-Commander! I’ve got something for you from the Inquisitor.” Blackwall handed him an ornate key, with a red and gold tassel threaded through the filigreed end. “She said she’s been meaning to give it to you for several weeks, but that there hadn’t been an opportunity, and that you’d know what it unlocked.” Before he could frame a thanks the man was off again.  


It was several hours before he could try the key in the locked drawer. His Knight-Lieutenants could handle many of the daily details, but things that needed his personal attention built up with worrisome speed. Finally, though, he could shut the door of his quarters and sit down at the desk. The key did indeed turn in the lock, and inside the drawer was a letter, and the button he’d lost in the barn on the night of his promotion. He brought the button to his lips, and the mirror over the desk confirmed that yes, he was smiling like a lovesick fool. Spreading the letter out on the desktop, he began to read.

_I’m beginning to think that the Venatori’s master plan isn’t collecting_  
_Elven artifacts across the length and breadth of Thedas, but_  
_instead is to keep us apart to drive me mad. And it may be working._  
_I miss you._

I miss you too, he thought, and kept reading.  


_Put the tassel in the drawer and keep it locked._  
_I’ll hang it out on the desk when I’ve left you something._  
_Counting the days until I see you again._

There was a postscript: 

_By the way, Blackwall is the one who found your button._  
_He’s offered to be a go-between if needed._  
_I would never have guessed, but he’s quite the romantic._

He re-read the letter several times, his finger tracing the words. Then he put it back in the drawer, along with the button and the tassel. He started to close it, then opened it again. There was something odd about this drawer. It didn’t seem as deep as the others next to it. He pulled it out as far as it would go, then pulled out the two to either side of it. Yes, it was only half as deep as the others. He felt around the edges and found a latch release, pulling the drawer out of the desk completely. Another piece of paper was pinned to the back of the drawer.

_You’ve found this already? Clever man._  
_Yes, there is a secret compartment here._  
_Don’t try to open it now. If you don’t do it_  
_correctly, it will seal permanently and the only_  
_way to get into it will be by taking an ax to the desk._  
_The Orlesians do value their secrets. I’ll show_  
_you the trick when we finally can be in the_  
_same place at the same time again._

Smiling, he fitted the drawer back into its slot, adding the note to the objects within. He started to close it, but stopped, and took the button back out. He locked the drawer, then dug through the room until he found a length of cord. He strung both the key and the button onto it, then knotted it around his neck, tucking it under his tunic. The button pressed into his skin, but it was a comforting feeling. His smile didn’t fade for the rest of the day.

**Author's Note:**

> I finally made Evelyn up in the character creator. [It's nice to have a face to go with the story.](http://thewightknight.tumblr.com/post/114455213333/ive-been-writing-about-evelyn-enough-i-figured-i)
> 
> Feel free to come say hi over on [tumblr](http://thewightknight.tumblr.com/).


End file.
